Koss Porta Pro: The headphone so good it just won't die

The Koss Porta Pro aren't retro headphones designed to be a trendy throwback. Instead, they arrived on the scene many many years ago and just never went away. Now about 30 years old the Porta Pro's sound as good as ever and have become the headphone go to for many budget audiophiles around the world.

Construction and Design

First up this design has been around since the 80's Koss know they have a winner as they since its inception the headphones construction has remained basically the same.

it's a metal headband combined with a plastic housing for the driver. It has a few cool tricks up its sleeve in that it will adjust the angle to set the pads closer to your ear and they also fold up into a tiny little package when you fold the earcups inward and use the built in storage clip to compress them.

So confident is Koss in the construction of the Porta Pro that they offer an excellent lifetime warranty, meaning you, essentially, have a set of headphones for life.

Styling, now in 2017, in my eyes gorgeous but I remember seeing these in the 90's and thinking how dated they were. It's funny how things come around and the Porta Pro is now a bit of a style icon.

Comfort

Comfort is OK. They are a lightweight set of headphones and clamping pressure is fairly nice but you might want to take a break after a few hours.

The one gripe comfort wise is the way the headband slider adjusts it tends to grab at your hair. With a bit of practice it becomes a non-issue but the first few times you wear them expect to be a few follicles lighter.

Isolation

These headphones are as open back as it gets and as a result offer absolutely nothing in the way of isolation from the outside environment.

Ambient noise will leak its way in and your music will certainly leak its way out so don't go wearing them on the train. Unless, of course, you want everyone to know that despite that Slipknot hoody you're wearing its actually Selena Gomez tracks you listen to.

Sound Quality

By far the best thing about the Koss Porta Pro is the sound. This is why it has remained so popular for so many years and why it will continue to be a popular budget headphone going forward.

Overall the Porta Pro is a neutral set of headphones sprinkled with just a touch of warmth across the midrange.

They are open sounding an display a good amount of separation in terms of imaging.

Bass is of good quality but average in quantity. Though they seem to be tuned perfectly for listening to rock music in truth at this price they cope very well with just about any genre.

Treble is a little peaky, really its the only downfall but yet again we are talking about a sub $30 set of headphones and if you fancy your hand at a modding the top end and bass can be altered to taste fairly easily.

Final Verdict: Koss Porta Pro Review

One of the oldest headphone designs I have ever reviewed the Porta Pro still makes me smile every time I put them on. They are more than just a cheap and cheerful set of headphones they are damn good in their own right.

Good build and styling couples with a lifetime warranty and solid sonic capabilities make these a winner in my eyes.

If you have less than $50 to spend on portable headphones I highly recommend you check them out.